Four's A Party
by VampireKisses08
Summary: Naruto likes Sakura, Sakura likes Sasuke, Sasuke likes Hinata, and Hinata likes Naruto. This is a love square you don't want to be a part of. AU
1. Domino Effect

**Title: ****Four's A Party**

**Synopsis: Naruto likes Sakura, Sakura likes Sasuke, Sasuke likes Hinata, and Hinata likes Naruto. This is a love square you don't want to be a part of. AU**

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Chapter One: Domino Effect

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Naruto was excited as he put on his bright orange coat and smiled at his reflection in the floor length mirror in a corner of his room. Today was going to be the day… It will probably be the best day of his life. At the age of seventeen, he already knows the woman who will complete his life, and today, he was going to confess to her. Today nothing could mess this up. He grabbed his black backpack and hurried out of the door. He could here his Uncle Iruka telling him to slow down but he can't be tamed. At least, not today.

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He cleared his throat as he practiced the memorized speech he was going to say to her later at lunch break. He was so ready for this. "S-Sakura, I think that you are the most beautiful flower of all. I like you a lot. And I think that we'd make a great couple… You are the high to my school, the straw to my berry, and at seventeen, I'm sure you're the one I want to marry."

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"Dude! Scoot over!" Kiba grinned as he ran to where Naruto was sitting on the bus. He plopped down beside him and stretch. "Aww man! I didn't get much sleep last night. I was up all night looking out for thieves. What about you? You look… Why are you dressed so bright?"

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"It's my lucky jacket, Kiba."

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Kiba snorted. "What do you need your lucky jacket for?"

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Naruto smiled. "You'll know about it soon, for now just wish me luck on this one."

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"Okay. Good luck."

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Naruto grinned. "Thanks." The two sat in silence as the bus stopped to pick up more students. Kiba stood up from his seat and waved at the awkward looking girl who just got on. It was Hinata Hyuga. Naruto watched as she timidly made her way towards them. She had a light blush on her pale cheeks as she kept her big blue eyes on her feet. "Good morning, Hinata!"

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Hinata glanced up and flushed. "G-G-G-Good morning, Naruto-kun... Kiba-kun." She proceeded to sit behind Kiba and Naruto. She couldn't believe that Naruto greeted her good morning. She tried to control her trembling fingers. She bit her lower lip and silently giggled. From here, she could smell Naruto's perfume so she whiffed and whiffed to her heart's content. That's why she always sat behind Kiba and Naruto. That was her biggest secret.

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What she didn't know was that a pair of onyx eyes has locked on her since she got on the bus. Sasuke Uchiha noticed Hinata Hyuga everywhere she went. She wasn't like those other noisy girls in their school. She was quiet. She was agreeable. Sasuke heard her speak up only once for a little puppy that was being beaten by a couple of grade school kids but that was the moment she captured Sasuke's attention. He leaned back on his seat with a frown. He didn't miss the way Hinata stole glances at Naruto Uzumaki, or the way she blushed whenever he talked to her. Weird as it was, that was another reason why he liked Hinata. She wasn't like most girls because most girls were begging at his feet for his attention. Sasuke groaned as his most despised female got on the bus.

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Sakura Haruno was the loudest, violent, and just plain annoying female ever. Her pink hair made her stood out from the crowd but mostly, it was for her loud voice. She was chatting with Ino, her best frienemy, as she looked for an empty seat. A wide grin made it's way to her face when she spotted Sasuke looking at her from where he was sitting. She pushed Ino into Shikamaru's waiting arms before she ran towards Sasuke. She waved at him. "Good Morning, Sasuke!" She greeted.

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Sasuke groaned. Why can't she take a hint? Glaring at her doesn't really mean she's being invited to talk to him! "Hey" was his dry response but of course, Sakura was a bit thick. She parked her ass beside his.

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Sasuke caught Naruto glaring at him. Yes, he also observed that Naruto had the hots for Sakura. He didn't understand that. Hinata was head-over-heels for Naruto and yet, he wants this noisy annoying pink-haired girl who couldn't stop talking.

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Ino screamed as she pushed Shikamaru away and ran to where Sasuke sat. "SAKURA! You bitch! You pushed me on purpose!" She screamed then she smiled sweetly at Sasuke. "Good morning, Sasuke."

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Sasuke lazily raised a hand as response.

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This was seriously messed up.

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**A/N: Short, I know! But it's an opening chapter! :)) Tell me what you think! I really appreciate help. :D Thanks for reading! Please add as your favorite or follow to get updates! Also to Beyblade fans, check out my one shot entitled: Blind Date.**

**Please be nice. It's my first Naruto fanfic. ;)**

**P.S. Yes the periods between paragraphs are intentional. Don't you think the paragraphs are spaced too closely?**


	2. Naruto's Confession

**Chapter Two: Naruto's Confession**

**Short A/N: Should I or should I not put period between the paragraphs? Is it not too crowded for you? :) Anyway, thanks to those who reviewed namely: Death-By-Sanity (**I don't like KaiHil also! HAHA! It's just a fic about Kai's hotness. Lol.)**, Fher34 **(Thanks! Hahaha! Uhm... SasuSaku YES! :p)**, and daydreamer102308. Also thanks to those who followed, I can't view who you are. Uhm. **

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Naruto glared at Sasuke's back as he passed by. That damn Uchiha always taking the spotlight from him. He gritted his teeth. "Urgh. That stupid Sasuke." He stated, "One day! I'll be better than him!"

Kiba let out a sigh and patted his friend's shoulder. "Come on. We'll be late for first period."

The hallways of Konoha High (What else would you call their school right?) was crowded with students who were running back and forth from their lockers to their classrooms. Naruto spotted Sakura and Ino on the opposite end of the hallway. Sakura was yelling something at Ino, who immediately yelled something back as well. What irked him was that Sasuke was caught in the middle of the two girls. That damn Sasuke.

"I hate mornings." Shikamaru suddenly appeared beside Kiba and Naruto. He had his spiky hair up in a pony tail. He looked so bored out of his skull that Naruto often wondered if anything interested him at all. "The hallway is too troublesome." He stretched. "I'm using the window."

Kiba gave Shikamaru a thumbs-up. "Great idea! I'm coming with you!" He glanced back at Naruto, whose eyes were still glaring at Sasuke. "You coming Naruto?"

Naruto grinned at Kiba. "I'll catch up!" He watched as his two friends disappeared into the crowd. He must talk to Sakura. He pushed his way through the crowd of people. Someone stepped on his foot. "OW! Watch it, idiot!" He snapped glaring at the culprit before realizing who it was.

Itachi Uchiha.

Itachi wasn't someone you messed with. He narrowed his gaze at Naruto and chuckled dryly. With a smirk, he stepped aside and let Naruto pass by. "Watch it next time, squirt." Kisame warned in a low voice. Kisame was Itachi's _best_ buddy. They were always together. Naruto thought it's a little weird _and_ gay. They were a part of this gang called Akatsuki.

Naruto gulped and nodded before continuing on his way.

"Sakura-chan!" He called as he got to where she was. For Naruto, Sakura was the most beautiful girl in their school. He loved her strawberry pink hair and her emerald eyes that portrayed thousands of emotions in a single glance. She loved her firm long legs.

At the corner of his eyes, Naruto caught Sasuke smirking. He turned to glare at him. "What are you smirking at, Sasuke?" He snapped, reaching for Sasuke's collar.

Sasuke easily swatted his hand away. "You're pathetic."

Sakura glanced at Sasuke. "Sasuke! That's not very nice." Then she turned to Naruto. "Stop agitating him, Naruto! What did you want?"

Ino crossed her arms over her chest. She was going to be a part of this conversation. She wasn't leaving Sasuke with Sakura. _Ever_. Where Sakura goes, she goes but fate had other plans, she caught Choji being bullied by some seniors. She growled. "Forehead, I'll be right back! Don't do something stupid!" She yelled before she pushed her way through the crowded hallway.

Sakura glared at Ino's back. "What did you call me!"

"Sakura!" Naruto called with a grin. Sakura turned to look at him. "C-Can I –" He glared at Sasuke. "I'm trying to talk to her! Alone!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes before he walked away.

"Sasuke! Wait!" Sakura called but Naruto grabbed her arm. She sighed and smiled at Naruto. "What is it, Naruto?"

"Can we have lunch together?" He asked, fumbling. He scratched the back of his head to try and make him look a little bit casual. "I have to tell you something. It's important!"

Sakura raised a brow. What? She can't have lunch with Naruto! She's planning to have lunch with Sasuke _and_ then confessing to him. Lunch time was the only time she could spend with Sasuke alone since Ino, the pig, was always having lunch with Choji and Hinata. "I'm sorry Naruto… Why don't you tell me right now?" She suggested. "If it's important, I don't think you should wait until lunch."

Naruto clasped his hands together. "Please!"

Sakura let out a sigh. She can confess to Sasuke tomorrow then or after class… or after she talks with Naruto. "Alright. See you at lunch then." She replied with a smile. Naruto looked so happy as she left for her first period class. She waved back at him.

"Naruto."

Naruto let out a scream as he pinned himself on the nearest locker. He glared at the intruder. "S-Shino! Where'd you come from?" He sighed. "Man, you surprised me."

"You have something to tell Sakura. Something very important." Shino said adjusting his dark-tinted glasses on his nose. Shino was a little weird. He had this fascination with bugs and he liked being a little bit… uhm, mysterious. Most of the time, Ino described him as gross-boy or insect-boy. "How do I know? Because I listened."

A big drop of sweat appeared on Naruto's forehead. "R-Right. You do know it's not nice to eavesdrop on people's conversation, Shino! You owe me ramen!"

"I couldn't help it. Why? Because you were standing in a crowded hallway." Shino replied as he slowly stepped backward. "See you around, Naruto. Good luck on your confession. You'll need it… Why? Because Sakura obviously has the hots for Uchiha Sasuke."

Naruto gritted his teeth. "You still owe me ramen! And Sakura-chan likes me! She doesn't know it yet." With that he hurried on to his classroom while mentally muttering strings of curses directed at Sasuke. He sat on his usual seat between Kiba and Shikamaru. Sasuke sat at the back beside Karin.

Naruto stood up from his seat and approached the guy he considered as his greatest rival. "Neh, Sasuke!" He hissed glaring at Sasuke, who glared back. "Sakura is mine! Okay? You stay away from her or I'll kick your ass!"

Sasuke smirked. "With pleasure. Now go away before _I_ kick your sorry ass."

Naruto growled as he reached for Sasuke's collar. "What was that?"

"Naruto!" Kiba tried to pull his silly friend away. "The teacher will be here soon! You don't want to get detention!"

"Sheesh, so troublesome." Shikamaru muttered before he went back to his short nap.

Sasuke slapped his Naruto's hands away. "You're pathetic."

"Sasuke!" Kiba scolded. "Stop aggravating him!"

Karin pouted and immediately came to Sasuke's rescue. She was Sasuke's biggest fan girl. "Neh! Naruto was the one who started it! Don't put the blame on Sasuke-sama!"

"Shut up, fangirl!" Naruto snapped then he glared at Sasuke. "This is not over. One day, Sasuke, I'll be better than you!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Do what you want."

Naruto snorted before he walked back to his seat. He glanced back at Sasuke and stuck his tongue out. Hah! He showed him! Now he can have Sakura all to himself. And at lunch time, after he confesses, he and Sakura will be the hottest couple ever.

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Sakura Haruno had no idea what was coming at her when the bell rang for lunch. She took out her vanity mirror and checked her face, fixed her hair, and put on some lip balm before she walked out of the classroom with Ino. "Neh, Ino." She said, spotting Naruto leaning on the wall. Probably waiting for her. " You go on ahead! Naruto said he had to talk to me."

Ino glanced at Naruto and smiled. "Oh, okay. Well, I'll see you at the cafeteria, forehead!"

"Pig!" Sakura hissed. Ino just laughed at her and continued on her way.

Naruto leaned on the wall and stared at his shoes. He was wearing his orange jacket again today. His bright yellow hair was messy like he just woke up. Maybe he just did. He had history before lunch.

"Naruto!" Sakura chirped as she approached the boy. She smiled at him. Naruto perked up when he saw her. "You didn't have to wait for me! We could have just met up at the cafeteria!" She tucked a stray strand of her strawberry hair behind an ear. "What were you going to tell me?"

Naruto blushed. Oh God! This was it! This was the moment! This was the biggest moment of his entire high school life. Confessing to Sakura Haruno, the girl he has been crushing on since freshman year. Now they were juniors, he still felt these butterflies every time he sees her. "S-S-S-SAKURA!" He exclaimed, scratching the back of his head. A habit he did every time he was nervous. He glanced around the hallway. It was empty except for the two of them. Everyone must have already hurried to the cafeteria.

"S-Sa-Sakura-chan." He started again with a gulp. "Well, we've been classmates… and friends… since freshmen year… and – and you've been a very nice friend to me… and I just have to tell you that… E-ever since I saw you… You were the most –"

"Sakura!" A familiar voice called out from behind Naruto. Sakura's face brightened and she grinned. Naruto gritted his teeth.

That damn Uchiha.

Naruto glanced behind him and glared at Sasuke, who looked amused. "SASUKE!" Naruto and Sakura exclaimed at the same time.

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**Thanks for reading! :) If it's too crowded for you, you can adjust the spacing at the top... Right! :) All I want is you comfortable! :D**


	3. Three's A Crowd

**Chapter Three: Three's A Crowd**

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**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews, favs, and follows you guys! I really appreciate each and every one of you.**

**How's the story so far? Are the characters still in character? Haha!**

**Can we talk about the newly released Manga chapter! Aww man!**

**.**

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"What do you want this time?" Naruto snapped, glaring at the intruder. Oh great! Now how can he confess his great love when this pig head kept interrupting him. "You're doing this on purpose! Why you – Come here!" He reached for Sasuke's collar but was quickly slapped away by Sasuke himself.

"Don't touch me!" Sasuke snapped with a smirk.

"NARUTO!" Sakura scolded.

Naruto gritted his teeth. Great! Just great! He turned back to Sakura. "Sakura-chan! All I really want to say is that I –"

"Neh, Sakura. Let's eat together." Sasuke interrupted, pushing Naruto's head down. Sakura squealed before she attached herself to Sasuke's side. "Watch it…"

"Sasuke! Really? Awww!" Sakura turned back to Naruto, "Hey, Naruto! Can we just continue talking later? Maybe after school? I'll meet you at the soccer field, okay? Okay! Okay bye!"

"S-SA-SA-SAKURA!" Naruto wailed, stomping his feet around. "But – DAMN YOU SASUKE!"

Sasuke glanced back at Naruto and smirked. "See ya!"

"GRR! SASUKE!" He exclaimed as he ran to catch-up with the two. "I'm coming with you!"

Sakura glared daggers at Naruto but he refused to go away. He walked in between the two. "Neh, Sasuke, you remember our talk? Earlier? Now I'm going to kick your ass."

"NA-RU-TO!" Sakura screamed as she grabbed Naruto's collar from behind and threw him a few meters away. "Stop it!"

Sasuke flinched. Naruto was going to hit – Hinata! "LOOK OUT!" He warned but he was too late, too slow. There was a clash of bodies and lockers. He watched as Naruto dropped face down on the white marble and Hinata fell on her back. He ran towards her and slowly helped her up.

Naruto glanced at Sasuke and smirked.

"AHA! NOW I KNOW!" He exclaimed with a grin as he sat cross-legged.

Sasuke quickly stood up and glared at Naruto. "You know nothing." He turned to Sakura. "I changed my mind. I'm going to eat lunch alone."

Sakura gasped. "B-B-B-B-But Sasuke…" The three watched as Sasuke left then Sakura turned to Naruto. "This is your entire fault! I'm never talking to you ever again!" She immediately walked away, sobbing.

"Sakura! WAIT!" Naruto called but then he let out a defeat sigh. He'll try again next time… and next time, Sasuke won't be there to ruin the moment. That damn Uchiha. What was his plan? He remembered the girl he hit. "Hinata! Are you okay?" He asked as he pushed himself up to his feet. He extended his hand to help her.

Hinata felt blood rush quickly to her cheeks as she stared at the out-stretched hand in front of her. Naruto was helping her up. Slowly, she reached for his hand to which he grinned as a reaction and gently helped her up to her feet. "Neh, are you hurt somewhere? Sorry about that. Sasuke was being an asshole." He chuckled.

Naruto was talking to her, asking her if she was okay. She couldn't believe it. Oh god, she felt faint. She couldn't breathe properly… She let out a whimper before she fell back on the floor. The last thing she heard was Naruto screaming her name before she lost consciousness.

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_._

_How embarrassing. Naruto must think I'm such a fool._ Hinata thought bitterly as she came to. The back of her head hurt a bit… Must have hit her head when she fell to the floor. She couldn't believe her luck… Of all the possible time to faint, she fainted in front of Naruto after he just talked to her. How pathetic can she be? How weak? How useless? Her lip trembled as she slowly opened her eyes but the first thing she saw almost made her want to lose consciousness again. Naruto was there, he was looking down at her. "Na-Naruto! What are you doing here?" She managed to ask, her voice trembled a little.

Naruto sighed. "You're alright. What happened Hinata? Are you sick?" He placed a palm against her cold forehead and looked thoughtful. "You seem a bit cold but… are you sick?" He grinned then gave her a thumbs-up. "Wait here! I'll go call the doctor!" He quickly ran out of the small room. "Hey Tsunade! Hinata is awake! Come and check her! Hey!"

"Keep quiet, Naruto! There are other patients resting!" Tsunade scolded as she hit Naruto's thick head. "You noisy brat! Take that tray and follow me!" She entered the room with a sweet smile. Her gold hair was tied in a messy bun behind her head and her golden eyes looked at Hinata gently. It was impossible to even think she was a violent type of person but she was and she hid it well. She made her way to Hinata and checked her eyes. "How are you feeling, Hyuuga? Is this the first time you've fainted?"

Hinata nodded. "Y-Yes, Doctor Tsunade."

Tsunade looked thoughtful. "Should I call your cousin Neji? So he can take you home?"

Hinata shook her head. "AH- No need. I'm feeling better…" She blushed as Naruto entered the room carrying some medical apparatus. "I just –" She bit her lip and glanced at Naruto, who was handing the apparatus to Tsunade. "I'm fine."

Tsunade nodded. "Alright, but if you faint again, I'm going to run a few tests and tell your parents, deal?" She adjusted the cuff on Hinata's upper arm and began pumping air into it. "Your blood pressure sounds normal… Don't push yourself too hard, Hinata, and eat properly… You look thin."

Hinata nodded. "Yes. Thank you."

Tsunade smiled. "Naruto's going to eat lunch with you now, since he said he crashed into you earlier… and he's going to pay…" She turned to Naruto with an evil grin. "Aren't you, Naruto?"

Naruto flushed. "W-W-What?" He glanced at Hinata before he sighed. The money for lunch with Sakura… supposedly… Oh well, he must've hit Hinata pretty hard that's why she fainted. "Okay, okay. Come on, Hinata! Let's eat some Ramen!"

"Something healthy, you idiot!" Tsunade screeched as she smacked Naruto's shoulder. "Now get out of my face before I lose my temper again!"

Naruto stuck his tongue out at Tsunade before he grabbed Hinata's wrist and pulled her along with him. That old doctor, Tsunade, had a temper… But she has helped him plenty of times now so he kind of owes her one. "Neh, Hinata, what do you want for lunch?" He glanced back.

Hinata was beyond red. Naruto was holding her wrist, dragging her with him, and they were going to go eat lunch together. She felt like fainting again but no, she mustn't faint or else this lunch wasn't going to happen. An unconscious person can eat lunch on her own can she? "I- Ramen!" She chirped.

Naruto grinned. "Fantastic! Come on! I know a place!"

Hinata smiled to herself as she allowed Naruto to drag her towards the place he knew. She was happy... Just happy that he was going to eat lunch with her… This memory was going to be kept in a special place inside her heart. His touch on her skin was warm and comforting.

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When they entered the Wrong Ramen restaurant, the first thing that Naruto noticed was Sakura glaring at him. He bit his lip and glanced down at his shoes then he slowly chuckled, Sakura must be jealous that he appeared with Hinata by his side. Ahh, an angry jealous ridden Sakura was so hot! He grinned at Sakura. He must make Sakura believe that Hinata was nothing but a friend. He waved at Sakura who huffed and looked away.

He dropped his hand and sighed. He'll have to talk to her later. He glanced back at Hinata who was playing with her two index fingers. "Hey, come on! I'm a bit hungry!" He chose the seat. Hinata obediently followed.

A waiter came and gave each of them a copy of the menu. Naruto ordered his usual Seafood Ramen while Hinata ordered the special Ramen. "So, Hinata, we're classmates in Art right?" Naruto asked. He wasn't sure but he kind of saw Hinata in his Art class once. "You're that girl who's good with origami, right?"

Hinata blushed. "Y-Yes, Naruto."

Naruto beamed. He wasn't good with Origami and with the exams coming up – "Hey Hinata! Would you please teach me? My hands… aren't uhm, fit for origami."

Hinata giggled. "That's because you have big hands…" She blushed when a dirty thought crossed her mind. You know what they say about big handed male… they also have a big … Hinata squirmed in her seat. And you know what they say about quiet people, they have the dirtiest mind.

Naruto stared at his hands. "Really? I think they're pretty normal."

Hinata just smiled in response. Naruto was pretty cute… and innocent… and just plain adorable. She noticed that he kept looking at Sakura Haruno's way. Hinata frowned. Sakura Haruno? How does one begin to explain Sakura Haruno?

Sakura Haruno was beautiful. Her big green eyes which seemed to captivate boys like Naruto and Rock Lee, her greatest admirers. Her creamy porcelain complexion that seemed to draw people to look at her and just makes her stand out from the crowd... Her strawberry hair which was rumored to smell like actual strawberries… sweet and juicy… silky and smooth…

Of course, Hinata figured, Naruto would be attracted to girls like Sakura Haruno.

"Naruto, why don't you go… and talk to her?" Hinata said softly.

Naruto blushed. "I- She's – She's upset with me."

"How come?"

"It's all Sasuke's fault." Naruto hissed. "Come on, teach me how to make the swan… I'll impress Sakura later at class and defeat Sasuke's paper rose origami." With a determined look in his eyes, he grabbed a piece of tissue and started making a square. Hinata nodded and grabbed a tissue of her own. She explained slowly so that Naruto could understand.

Naruto smirked. _Just you wait, Sasuke! I'll defeat your origami in a while. But first…_ The waiter arrived and placed their orders in front of them. "ITADAKIMASU!" He exclaimed breaking his chopsticks in two.

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**Will Naruto defeat Sasuke's paper rose origami in art class later?**

**Will Sakura finally be impressed?**

**Will Hinata manage to successfully teach Naruto her origami techniques?**

**Leave a review please. Hehe. :3**

**P.S. Wrong Ramen is a legit restaurant at home. :3 Yummy!**


	4. Trouble

**Chapter Four: Trouble**

**Thanks to everyone who follow and reviewed. :3 Here's a soft chewy cookie. **

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Naruto confidently walked up to where Sasuke Uchiha was sitting during free-time minutes of their weekly Art class. He had pieces of origami paper in his grasp. "Sasuke! Be amazed I will show you my origami masterpiece!" He bragged raising the papers into his rival's face, "THE SWAN!"

Naruto smirked. _Sakura-chan, are you watching?_ He glanced to where Sakura was and sweat-dropped, she seemed busy with Ino by the corner. No matter! When he defeats Sasuke, for sure, Sakura-chan will hear about it and she'll be all over him.

Sasuke smirked as he rested his chin on the back of his hand. He knew Naruto was doing it to impress Sakura... Should he let Naruto win this one? Just so the annoying idiot leaves him alone for even a little while. He thought about it... That may be a good idea... Sasuke excels in many aspects - just one loss won't hurt him -but that's before he noticed how Hinata looked at Naruto. Pale purple eyes full of admiration. Sasuke gritted his teeth. _What in the world does she see in Naruto? Look at him. He's pathetic._

"Come on, Sasuke!" Naruto continued. "Pick up your papers! I'll show you the most beautiful swan ever!"

Sasuke responded by grabbing the pieces of multi-colored origami paper at his right.

Kiba jumped up on a nearby table and announced: "FIGHT! Everyone! Naruto VS. Sasuke!"

All the students glanced at Kiba and quickly gathered around the spot where Naruto and Sasuke where. Sakura pushed her way inside and beamed, "Sasuke-kun! Gambatte! You can do it!" Ino glared at Sakura. "Eh! You think he'll listen to your cheer? You're distracting him, Haruno!"

Sakura raised her fist at Ino. "What was that, Ino!"

"The one who can finish a swan in 60 seconds flat, WINS!" Kiba exclaimed, raising his arm towards the ceiling. He glanced at Naruto. "Ready, Naruto?" Naruto nodded with a smug smirk. Kiba turned to Sasuke. "Ready, Sasuke?" Sasuke smirked in response. This was a total waste of his time. He mastered the swan years ago. He could finish it in 30 seconds. Naruto was going to lose.

"Alright! Get ready! In three -"

"Go... Naruto-kun!" Hinata softly cheered on.

"Two!"

"You're going to lose, Sasuke!" Naruto taunted.

"ONE! GO!" Kiba blew on the whistle he was holding. He was always prepared for show-offs like this. Naruto enjoyed challenging Sasuke, the genius. Nobody really believes that he will defeat Sasuke, but man, Naruto always tries. Kiba learned to admire that... and he hoped others would too.

Naruto let out an excited yell before he grabbed a piece of paper and began folding it the way Hinata taught him earlier. make a triangle. Cut. Fold. He wiped his brow with the end of his orange jacket's sleeves. He wasn't going to lose to Sasuke this time. He was determined to win this. He was going to win this.

"40 seconds remaining!" Kiba annouced as everyone cheered on. He prayed that Naruto finally defeats Sasuke today. "Naruto! Let's go!"

Naruto grinned. Everyone was counting on him. He was going to win this... Insert this end to the opposite end... Man, he was glad he ate lunch with Hinata. That girl was the real master of origami. Maybe Sasuke can't beat her.

"I'm done." Sasuke's voice silenced the rowdy crowd. He tossed the perfect yellow colored swan in front of Naruto, who froze in response. "Looks like you lost again, Na-ru-to."

The class cheered. "SASUKE-SAMA! That was beyond amazing! Sasuke-sama!" Karin beamed as she attached herself on Sasuke's arm. Ino and Sakura breathed fire as the two tried to pull Karin away. Karin glared at them. "What's your problem! Go away! Sasuke-sama! Help me! They are pulling me away from you! A love like ours is forbidden!"

"SHUT UP KARIN! You're barking up the wrong tree!" Ino hissed as she grabbed Karin's hips. "Isn't Naruto your cousin?"

"We are distantly related! Go away!" Karin exclaimed as she kicked the two annoying fan girls away. "Sasuke-sama! Your greatness is blinding me."

Sasuke yanked his arm away. _Girls. _Why didn't he just go to an all boys school? Maybe there he'll be peaceful. "Go away."

"SASUKE! YOU!" Naruto exclaimed as he turned the table over and leaped towards Sasuke with his fist curled. "Let's just fight each other with our fist! Take this!"

"NA-RU-TO!" Ino, Sakura, and Karin screamed as the three dragged Naruto away. Naruto wailed. Sakura-chan was dragging him somewhere. He may have lost to Sasuke but it looks like Sakura-chan was dragging him somewhere they could be alone. He heard the door open. He screamed as the three girls tossed him out of the noisy classroom. "STAY THERE!" They ordered in unison.

The door slammed close.

Naruto let out a sigh. He lost again. Will he ever get better than Sasuke's in anything? He always loses! He hated losing especially to Sasuke Uchiha. That guy didn't deserve the attention he was getting... People just paid attention to him because of his looks... He wasn't that great... Naruto has neck-breaking looks too. His eyes opened when he heard the door open. "Sakura?" He hoped it was... but it was only Hinata. He grinned at her. "Hey, Hinata! Sorry, looks like I lost again. You wasted all that time teaching me... but looks like I blew it... Don't worry next time I won't lose. That's for sure."

Hinata smiled. She always admired Naruto's fighting spirit... She doesn't understand if he was really a tough-cookie ot just plain stubborn to accept that Sasuke was better at him. "Yes, Naruto-kun! I believe in you." She cheered with a light blush on her cheeks. "One day, you will beat Sasuke Uchiha."

Naruto eyes widened a bit at what Hinata stated. She believed in him. He gave her a thumbs-up. "That's right! Believe it!"

* * *

Sakura Haruno had a mission this afternoon. She got off at a stop she usually didn't get off of. "Mom wanted me to pick something up. See you tomorrow, Ino!" She said standing up. "Prepare yourself." Ino just nodded. Sakura turned to look at Sasuke. _Huh? It seemed like he already got off the bus. I didn't notice. _ She thought as she jumped off the yellow school bus. She waved at Ino, who waved back.

The truth was the Haruno business of martial arts was losing. Nobody was that interested in learning martial arts anymore. Ballet was in. Dancing was in. Zumba was in. The family business was slowly losing it's capital so here she was, at the shady part of town, to join an underground martial arts competition. She keeps this as a secret from her family and friends. She was afraid her friends were going to pity her... and her family... they were going to worry. She didn't want that. She's going to earn money through the only thing she was good at.

Martial Arts.

Tsunade, the school doctor, was her sensei when she was small. She always said that Sakura had a hidden strength inside her that was just waiting to come out. Tsunade was Sakura's favorite sensei. She taught her a lot of things including first aid and how to hit vital spots in your opponents body... but when Tsunade quit with the reason that she wanted to concentrate on being a mother and a doctor... Sakura also quit and turned her attention to taking care of her beauty and boys... just like any other regular teenage girl... but now that her family was in a financial crisis.

Sakura was going to take a stand to help her family.

With her mask on, she entered a small pub at the end of an empty alley. It was called the _Drunken Dragon Pub. _Dim yellow lights lit the interior of the pub revealing about five people (including the bartender) inside, round wooden tables, and barrels of rum at a corner. The bartender looked up at her with a smirk. He had a toothpick between his blue-painted lips. "Ah, what can I do to help you, little girl? Are you lost? This isn't the place for you." He said.

Sakura smirked before she slammed something on the table. A ticket stab. "I am the Pink Flower." she announced to which the people inside the pub gasped to.

"You mean the rookie who took down Andrea last week?" The bartender gaped taking in the girl in front of him. He couldn't see her face for she tied a cat mask over her face. He's heard of the Pink Flower just last week. She was a late entry... At first the officials didn't allow her to enter anymore but she pushed on the right buttons... taunting them... Andrea got pissed at her and stupidly said that if the Pink Flower defeats her, she can take her place as replacement.

"Where's the door?" Sakura hissed. She still needed to get home and study her ass off, if it doesn't get kicked. If it does, she'll have to run over to Tsunade's house first. How she came to know of this place? She'll tell us that later for now... she was up for a fight. The bartender nodded and lead her behind the barrels, where he pushed a small opening in the wall. "Thanks."

"Good luck." The bartender whispered as he closed the opening.

Sakura turned and took in a deep inhale. How ever was one going to be ever ready for these things? The ticket stab said that she needed to get to Arena 2B. She glanced around... the wide room which seemed like it was used as a flyer before... there were mini square stages of about 20 meters wide... Spectators crowded around any stage they wish... She walked around, pushing her way through the crowd... Of course, this was illegal... but she had to do it. She wasn't going to leave her family in poverty. If she doesn't win 50,000 dollars tonight, her dad was going to close their dojo three days from now. She had to win.

She bumped into someone. "AH! Watch it!" she hissed, glaring at the person but then she gasped. It was Neji Hyuuga! What was he doing here? At an illegal place like this? She was dead if he recognizes her. She stepped back.

Neji stared at her. "You look familiar..." He started to say but then someone called him. A weird looking guy in green tights... Sakura gasped... It was also a fellow schoolmate, Rock Lee.

"Hey! Neji! Gai-sensei is looking for you! Where'd you run off to?" Rock Lee scolded. "You're the next one up!"

Sakura decided that this was the time to disappear.

Neji raised a brow. "I went over there to see a fight..." He turned to glanced at where the familiar girl was standing. She was no longer there. He narrowed his gaze. "Hey, Lee... Did you see the girl I was talking to a second ago?"

Lee glanced around. "A girl? No I didn't see anyone. Come on! If you're 60 seconds late, you get disqualified." He exclaimed running off. Neji quickly took off after him. That was weird.

Sakura poked her head out from the stacks of barrel she hid behind. Adjusting her cat mask, she felt really grateful that she had it on. What were they doing here? She didn't know but she was sure it wasn't because the same reason as she was. There was once a rumor that Neji belonged to a gang but unlike Itachi, Neji never confirmed it. So it was true? He was part of an underground gang.

She's going to be more careful. She carried on her way to find arena 2B but what she saw there made her freeze up.

On top of the stage was a red hair boy with a black coat on, it had a couple of red clouds all over it. He was sitting on a wooden stool as if waiting for someone... Sakura glanced back down at her ticket... Her opponent was going to be... Sasori of the Akatsuki.

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**Will Sakura win? How about Naruto? Will he ever win? Will Sakura's cover be blown?**

**What could be the plot of my story? Don't worry it's still humor/romance but with a little bit of action. BWAHAHA. See you in my next update... which will be probably tonight or tomorrow.**

**x**

**Please leave a review. :3**


	5. Believe it!

**Chapter 5: Believe it!**

**A/N: Uh, tbh Naruto has been going on for seven years now... SEVEN years. -_-; Neji and Lee says hi to Death-By-Sanity!**

**Yesterday I saw a screen shot from a website I don't know where Sasuke won as the number 1 most hated villian. Lol.**

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.

Hinata smiled to herself as she gently combed her long silky black hair. She always loved her hair and took good care of it... although not to an extreme extent like Sakura and Ino. She liked her straight bangs and how it seemed to make her look younger. One last look at her face before she raced out of their home, the bus was going to be here any minute now. She doesn't want to be late.

"Slow down, Hinata. You'll fall and hurt yourself." Neji Hyuuga spoke up as Hinata ran past him. He stood up and quickly followed her outside. He usually walked to school, meeting Lee and Tenten on the way, but today, he wanted to take the bus. His body took quite a beating last night. He still couldn't shake off that girl in a cat mask from his mind. He knows he heard her voice somewhere.

Hinata glanced back at her cousin. The two looked the same. Pale complexion. Light purple eyes. Straight black hair. "N-Neji, are you going to take the bus? A-Aren't you going to walk?" She asked with a frown. Neji was strict and people were often intimidated by him. There goes Hinata's chance to sit beside Kiba and Naruto.

Neji shook his head.

Hinata sighed before she started pushing her two index fingers together. It was a habit she developed every time she was nervous.

The bright yellow school bus came to sight. The cousins boarded it and sat at the back. Hinata smiled at Naruto and Kiba as she passed them by. People often left Hinata alone when she was with Neji. At pre-school, Hinata was often bullied because she was soft-spoken and a cry-baby. Neji beat those punks nearly to death. Nobody messed with Hinata after afraid of facing Neji's fists. Sad part was, nobody made friends with her either.

"Sasuke." Neji stated glancing at the boy who sat opposite to where he was sitting. "I didn't see you last night."

Sasuke smirked. "I was with Itachi."

Hinata glanced at the two. _Where were they last night? Was Sasuke also in the business? _Once every three nights, Neji and the other Hyuuga men went out to do some business - bring glory and money to the clan. Hinata wasn't allowed to ask. She was female. It wasn't her business although her mother seemed to know but every time she asks, her mother would always tell her that it's still not the right time for her to know. That frustrated Hinata a lot. She was part of the Hyuuga clan... daughter of the eldest... but she didn't push it to avoid strife.

"SAKURA!" Naruto exclaimed as he stood up from his seat and waved at the pink hair girl who entered with her blonde counterpart. Those two were never apart. "I saved you a seat!" He stood up and started running towards Sakura when the bus started. It happened so fast! Naruto lost his balance and fell on his back. Sakura lost her balance and fell on Naruto. Ino lost her balance and fell on top of Naruto and Sakura, squishing the two together.

"Na-Naruto!" Hinata called blushing. Was he hurt? Did he hit his head?

Sasuke rolled his eyes. It was too early for this.

Neji chuckled softly. He was going to take the bus more these days. Entertainment like this? Worth it.

Kiba and the others laughed before those near the trio gave a hand. "Hey Naruto! Dream come true! Sakura just fell for you! Literally!" Kiba teased with a grin. He pulled his friend up after Shikamaru help Ino up while Sakura was aided by Ino.

"Shut up, Kiba!" Sakura hissed, reaching for Kiba's shirt.

Sasuke flinched when he noticed the bandage around Sakura's lower arm was slowly turning red. A fresh wound. _Could it be?_ Last night, Itachi let him tag along at the _Drunken Dragon Pub_ for the preliminaries. In the shadows, they watched as Sasori and a girl in a cat mask fight. It ended up in a tie but Sasori cut the girl's arm pretty bad. And if he remembers correctly the girl had pink hair too. He shook his head. _No, not possible. _Sakura was girly and noisy, and annoying... He couldn't see her kicking ass... He could see her wasting her time on social media, dancing, and clubbing with Ino... Why would she go to some illegal contest? It just didn't fit her personality.

Ino pulled Sakura closer to her and whispered. "Look, Sasuke's looking at you." She dragged her friend to a seat. "Time to sit down so he can no longer see you."

Sakura glared at Ino. "Such a hater."

Ino's face turned serious as she huddled closer to her friend. "Your arm is bleeding. You should let Tsunade check it out. Sakura, this is dangerous. If you really need the money, I can talk to mom and dad to let you work at our flower shoppe."

Sakura stared at her bandage before she pulled out a coat from her bag and put it on. Nobody must see. "It's okay, Ino. I got this. Just don't tell anybody, okay?" She raised her pinky. "Pinky swear?" She trusted Ino. They were best friends although they competed over Sasuke... but that was only for fun.

Ino stared at Sakura for a bit before she raised her pinky and interlocked it with Sakura's. "Alright, I promise... But when this gets dangerous, I also promise that I will tell. Okay?"

"Okay."

They sat silently for a while. Today was a serious day. Two nights from now, Sakura was going to face Sasori again. Was she ready for that? He gave her such a hard time. He was good... maybe even beyond good... Well, that's what she should expect from a member of the Akatsuki. She just hoped Itachi Uchiha wasn't there last night. She already had Neji and Lee to think about. Mostly Neji. He's got such keen eyes.

Naruto popped in between Ino and Sakura who both shrieked in surprise. "Hey Sakura! You want to have lunch with me today? I made a super yummy bento I'm sure you're going to love." He gave her a thumbs-up. "Believe it!"

Ino groaned as she pushed herself towards the window. Ugh. What a long bus ride. She giggled as she watched Naruto get bonked in the head by an angry Sakura.

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* * *

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"SASUKE-SAMA!" Karin shrieked as she ran from where she was standing towards Sasuke who just got off the bus. She didn't understand why he insisted on riding the crowded bus when she always volunteered to pick him up.

Suigetsu Hozuki rolled his dark purple eyes in annoyance. He just doesn't understand why girls fawn over Sasuke, especially Karin. She acts like he's the sun and moon at the same time. It was getting a bit stupid. Although, he admits that Sasuke was good-looking and sort of cool sometimes... There were still a lot of guys with the same potential but wasn't getting the right attention like him for example.

With Karin grinning like stupid beside Sasuke, Suigetsu grinned at him as he passed by. "Morning, boss! I see the leech is a bit alert this morning, huh?" He teased.

Sasuke just let out a breath in response. "I'm going to class." He stated before he pushed Karin away and started walking really fast. Annoying. Girls are just plain annoying. Why can't they just waste their time reading books or something?! As expected, he was the first one to arrive in the homeroom. Great, another subject he shared with Naruto and Sakura... Sakura almost had all the same classes as he does... How she pulled that off? He didn't know. As a result, Naruto also changed most of his classes to be in Sakura's classes... How he pulled that off? Probably by crying and kicking his legs around. Whatever it was, it was annoying Sasuke.

Why can't Sakura be like Hinata? Silent. Gentle. Shy. Why does she have to be rash? Noisy? Annoying?

He dropped his sexy ass on his seat and rested his chin on top of his palm. He had a feeling that today was going to be quite a long day again. He just can't wait to graduate so he'd never have to see Naruto's face ever again.

Speaking of...

"But Sakura! I made it especially for you!" Naruto wailed as he followed Sakura and Ino inside the room. Ah of course, where Sakura went, Ino went. "You can also have some, Ino! We can all eat lunch together! Kiba will be there too!"

"Ah, thrilling. I've always wanted to eat lunch with Kiba." Sakura replied as she dropped her things on her desk. She needed to go and meet Tsunade but Naruto kept on following her. Sometimes, it pains her to be this beautiful.

Naruto grinned. "Alright! Sorry! If that's how you want it, then just the two of us then."

Ino laughed in her seat. Naruto wasn't getting a hint. This was funny... and kind of cute. She noticed Sasuke at the back. She glanced back at Sakura who was busy trying to get through Naruto's thick head that she wasn't going to eat lunch with him. Ino rubbed her palms together. This is her chance to spend some time with Sasuke without Sakura interfering. She started to head towards Sasuke's desk but he wasn't there. Huh? Where'd he go?

Sasuke leaned on the wall, panting. That was close. He saw how Ino was looking at him. She was going to pounce on him if he stayed there. Fuck it, his high school life consisted of running away from girls.

"G-G-Good morning, Sasuke-kun." A soft voice called out to Sasuke as he tried to catch his breath. Damn that Ino. He turned to look at another annoying girl... Did he say annoying? It was Hinata. She just came out of the Guidance Counselor's office and probably spotted him looking weird by the wall. He cleared his throat.

Where did his voice go?

Oh man?!

"..." He was afraid that his voice was going to sound squeaky so he opt to just wave at her instead. Hinata looked surprised to receive a response from Sasuke Uchiha. She bit her lower lip and slowly waved back before walking away.

_That was weird._ She thought as she hurried off to her classroom. She wasn't classmates on Naruto for this one but the next one, she was and she just couldn't wait. She stepped inside her room and waved at Shikamaru and Kiba, who were arguing about something. Well, Kiba did most of the talking. Shikamaru just rolled his eyes and complained that it was such a drag.

"Hinata." Shino suddenly spoke up from Hinata's side, which made her jump a bit. She didn't see Shino there. Shino seemed to realize this. "You didn't notice me."

Hinata giggled nervously. "I-I-I'm sorry, Shino!"

"You didn't notice me. I was here. You didn't notice me." Shino kept on repeating to himself as he walked back to his seat and sulked. Hinata didn't notice him. People rarely take notice of him at school. Why? He didn't know. He should probably research about that but Hinata was often the one who noticed him... but today, she didn't notice him. Was he that easy to forget? Not to be noticed by people was nice sometimes but often, it was heartbreaking and it broke his heart.

Kiba glanced at Shino and laughed. "Don't worry about him, Hinata! He'll get over it in a while!" He assured, grinning. "Come sit with us." Kiba kind of liked Hinata, although she was a bit weird. It always seemed to him like she needed some friends but couldn't find any who were ready to face Neji's wrath. Kiba snorted, like Neji was someone to be feared. He could kick that idiot's ass in no time.

Hinata slowly walked towards where Kiba and Shikamaru were sitting. Why was Kiba asking her to sit with them? She gasped. Did he already know that she liked his best friend, Naruto? Was that why he was calling her to come to him? She stood in front of him. "W-What is it, KIba-kun?" She asked, biting her lower lip.

"Nothing. I just wanted to be friends! I often see you all by yourself. Doesn't that get sad?" Kiba asked, pulling out a chair for her. He gestured at it. "We can be your friends! You can hang out with us!"

"That is if she wants to hang out with you..." Shikamaru spoke up. "Naruto's the only one who can hang out with you 24/7."

Hinata sneezed. "W-What's that smell?"

Shikamaru laughed. "See smelled it!"

Kiba sighed. "Ah, I'm hopeless."

"Smelled what? There was a funny smell but it's gone now." She replied, tilting her head at the two. "I'm sorry... Did I do something wrong?"

Kiba shook his head. "Nah, you just smelled Akamaru."

"A-Akamaru?"

Kiba grinned as he placed his big blue bag on his desk and opened the zipper. A cute white dog popped out and began barking. "Hinata, this is Akamaru. He's that funny smell that made you sneeze."

Hinata smiled as she patted the puppy's head. "Cute. Hello Akamaru." She took a paw and gently shook it. "It's nice to meet you."

Akamaru barked in return.

"KIBA! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?" Kurenai Asuma exclaimed as she stepped inside her homeroom and spotted the small puppy that was on top of Kiba's desk. "You aren't allowed to bring pets to school! Detention!"

"B-Bu-But, sensei!" Kiba tried to protest but Kurenai was already writing out a detention form.

"You either bring that dog back home or spend the whole day at the detention hall." Kurenai said in a stern voice. "You guys know the rules. SHINO! Those bugs have to go as well! I can see them from here!"

Shino grimaced. The moment he didn't want to be noticed, he got noticed.

.

* * *

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_Class has ended. Naruto was busy cleaning the blackboard as punishment for being noisy in class and picking a fight with Sasuke Uchiha again. Sometimes, he felt that Kakashi-sensei was on Sasuke's side. The chalk dust made him sneeze but he wanted to get this over with as fast as he could so he could eat ramen. The sliding door burst open... Naruto almost dropped the eraser when he spotted Sakura there, catching her breath. Did she run here?_

_"S-Sakura." He said. The orange glow of the sun made the room glow a bit orange as well. "Did you forget something?"_

_Sakura smiled as she closed the door behind her. She was in their school uniform, white blouse and dark blue skirt. "Naruto..." She said softly with a light blush on her cheeks, "I've been meaning to tell you..."_

_Naruto raised a brow. "W-What is it, Sakura?"_

_She took steps towards him until she was only a few inches away. Naruto blushed at their closeness. "Naruto, I... I can't hide it anymore... Even though I pretend to be annoyed at you... It's all a front... because..." she bit her lip. "Because... I... I like you, Naruto."_

_Naruto's eyes grew wide as saucers. "Sakura-chan?"_

_"Naruto-kun." Sakura leaned forward with pouted lips. "Kiss me."_

_Naruto gulped. "Sa-Sakura." This was it, Naruto! Grab the opportunity! Sakura, the girl of your dreams, wants you to kiss her. Do your best! He leaned forward so that their lips met. Her lips was soft and she smelled like strawberries. He placed his hands on her hips and pulled her closer. "Sakura."_

_"Naruto." She breathed before their lips met again. "Naruto."_

_"Sakura."_

_"Naruto."_

_"Sakura."_

_"NARUTO! WAKE UP!"_

_Naruto moved away from Sakura and gasped to see that it was now Kakashi-sensei. Did he just kiss Kakashi-sensei?_

.

"AH SAKURA!" Naruto screamed as he bolted up right in horror. He was sweating and his arms felt dead. He let out another shriek when he noticed that Kakashi-sensei was standing in front of him with an annoyed look on his face. "S-Sensei! I'm sorry!"

Everyone in class laughed at him. "Hey Naruto! Dreaming about Sakura again, huh?!" Kankuro teased to which everyone laughed some more. Naruto kept his head down in shame. Oops, he did it again. He stole a glance at Sakura, who was also keeping her head down in shame. Well, that makes the two of them. "Sakura! Naruto! Sakura! Naruto!" Kankuro continued.

Kakashi sighed. This class was stupid. "Stop sleeping in class, Naruto, or I'm going to give you detention with Kankuro, who can't shut up."

Kankuro immediately closed his mouth. "Sorry, Sensei."

Naruto scratched the back of his head.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Pathetic.

.

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**Tune in next time for the next adventure! ;)**

**- Will Sakura win against Sasori ****next time****?**

**- Hinata and Sasuke's first interaction. :o**

**- Will Naruto ever win the heart of Sakura?**

**- Will Sakura be found out as the Pink Flower by Neji and Sasuke?**

**- Will Naruto ever win against the genius Sasuke?**

**UPDATE: Maybe on Monday or tomorrow. :p**


	6. Timber

**A/N: Hi! It's me again! I'm back with an update because I currently have nothing going on in my sad sad life. **

**S/O to Death-By-Sanity - OMG are you okay? You over active girl! Definitely lay off the orange juice for a while! Yes, Hinata will definitely fight soon! Yeah, she'll be like amazing! But my queen is Sakura but no, she didn't beat Neji. They just bumped into each other. :p**

**.**

**Anyway, Lyra (Hey Lyra!) pointed out to me that I sort of have to place the pairings of this Fanfic to avoid shipping wars... *sobs* Let's not have shipping wars! Please! Let's just write stories and be happy! I wanted the parings to be a surprise so... :p I will do my utmost best to make you understand why I believe that (person) belongs to (person). I'm just going to give out hints though. :)**

**.**

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**Chapter 6: Timber**

Two days later, Sasuke finds himself in detention together with Naruto and Sakura. This will probably be the worst day for the following months. He let out a breath as he leaned back on his seat and continued the staring contest between him and the white analog clock directly above the detention officer's desk. Thirty more minutes. The detention officer was Iruka-sensei, who was busy writing something down for Principal Sarutobi. How Sasuke got into detention? Of course, once again, it was Naruto's doing. He started challenging Sasuke again in the middle of Kakashi-sensei's class after Sasuke muttered something under his breath.

"What did you say? Oh yeah, you think you're so great. Let's hear you answer it!" Naruto exclaimed at Sasuke earlier. He was asked to answer a question by Kakashi-sensei but he didn't get it right. He heard Sasuke mutter: _moron_. Then Naruto started charging at Sasuke and grabbed his collar. Of course, in defense, Sasuke said something back. Kakashi-sensei got tired and just sent the two of them to detention but Sakura protested that Sasuke didn't deserve to be sent to detention. Well, long story short, the three of them got sent to detention for disrupting class.

Sakura sighed as she glanced between Naruto, who looked bored out of his mind, and Sasuke, who looked well... Hot, to be honest... but also bored out of his mind. Great! She defended an innocent and got punished as well. She cringed as she recalled what Kakashi-sensei said: _You think he doesn't deserve detention, Haruno? Injustice you say? Here's injustice, detention for you too. Enjoy._

That man was evil.

Pure evil.

"Hey Sakura," Naruto spoke up. Sasuke grunted before he rested his forehead on his intertwined fingers. Naruto just ignored him. "Hey Sakura, can we talk... after detention? You remember that thing I have to tell you?"

Sakura glanced at Naruto. "Okay but you have to make it quick... I have to be somewhere. I can't be late. If it's long, then maybe tomorrow will be better?"

Naruto frowned. "But tomorrow's Saturday."

"Didn't you read your detention slip? We have to clean the school park tomorrow morning as an additional punishment."

The two boys flinched before they reread the individual detention slips Kakashi gave them. Sakura was right. It looked like they had to clean the school park. Oh fun. Sakura looked at the two boys like she couldn't believe that they didn't read their detention slips. What if the teacher wrote down additional hours than you deserved and you just accepted it unknowingly? Boys.

The door opened and three person's came in. Naruto beamed as he waved to his friend, "Kiba!" Kiba glanced at the seats and waved at Naruto. The three proceeded to give Iruka their detention slips. Iruka signed the three slips and told the students to pick a chair, sit down, and keep quiet because he needed to finish the paper works Sarutobi gave him. Kiba sat in front of Naruto then they did a secret hand shake.

"Hinata! You got detention? Why?" Sakura inquired. It wasn't really surprising that she got detention but Hinata? In detention? Unlike Sakura, Hinata followed the rules and was quiet.

Hinata kept her head down in shame. She felt like crying. Today was her first detention _ever. _"Kurenai-sensei was making Akamaru leave although he kept quiet. Kiba didn't want to leave him alone at home because no one was there to watch over him... But Kurenai-sensei said that rules were rules. I - I - I protested for A-Akamaru... and got detention." She sputtered. Oh gosh, what will her mother think? What will Neji think? She hopes that Neji doesn't hear about this or else, her whole clan will too... and they'll think that she's irresponsible and naughty. She wasn't. She wasn't.

.

Sasuke smiled but covered it with his hand. Again Hinata saved a little puppy. She had a soft spot for animals... He remembered the first time he got interested or curious about the shy girl, she was defending a puppy being beaten by a couple of idiotic kids. He realized that deep down, Hinata had a spirit for standing up for right and for those she considered important to her. She took a stand for those who couldn't at the moment. His admiration for her grew and suddenly he was glad he got detention. At least, Naruto did something good for once. He was also glad Sakura was here because if not for her, Hinata would never say why she got in detention. Sakura's mouth had it's uses.

Shino observed the sight before him. Sasuke was sulking, keeping quiet, lost in his thoughts but he seemed to be listening to the conversations going on around him. Sakura was busy talking to Hinata about something. Hinata listened. She was always a good listener. Naruto and Kiba were whispering something into each other's ears. Nobody took notice of Shino again. His shoulders slumped as a dark cloud formed over his head. Was he that invisible?

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* * *

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Iruka-sensei clapped his palms together to get the attention of the overly-excited students. Detention was over and he knew that the six brats were ready to head home and do their thing. He, himself, was ready to head home and watch some television before going to sleep. "Quiet, kids! Just a reminder for you three - Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura - be here nine in the morning tomorrow, alright? You have the whole school park to clean. Maybe next time you'll think twice before disrupting Kakashi's class. He values his time a lot."

_Yeah right! He's late for class most of the times and with a pathetic reason too. Last time he said he got lost in the way of life. What kind of an excuse was that?_ Sakura thought bitterly.

Iruka turned to the other three. "No pets allowed in school, okay? Kiba! Shino! No pets. Rules are rules. They were made for a good reason so let's just follow it. Hinata, I'm glad you spoke up for something but as I said, rules are rules. Okay my words of wisdom has been drained. You may leave! Head home students! HOME."

"FINALLY!" Naruto beamed as he placed an arm around Kiba's shoulders. "Want to play Ninja Saga later?"

.

"Oh, Sakura. Tsunade wants to see you before you head home. She's at the clinic." Iruka added with a smile. Sakura nodded before she turned to Naruto and said: "Naruto, sorry, let's just talk tomorrow, okay? See you tomorrow!" With that she quickly hurried off to the clinic.

Naruto clutched his chest. "D-Did you hear that sweet goodbye, Sasuke?" Then he laughed and slapped Sasuke's shoulder, "Oh that's right! She didn't say anything to you! That's too bad huh? Guess I won this round."

Sasuke rubbed his shoulder. He wanted to snap something back but held his tongue. He glanced at Hinata who was texting somebody in her phone. Should he say goodbye to her? What will he say? Good bye Hinata? He groaned. Will he also have to say to the three other idiots who was left with him? If he only says goodbye to Hinata, will it be too obvious? This is stupid. He was getting worked up and he hadn't even said anything yet. He didn't want to say anything to Naruto or Kiba or the weird insect guy. What was his name again? Shi-something. Should he walk away now? The five of them stood in the hallway as if they were waiting for someone. This was getting a bit stupid.

.

"Hey Hina-chan!" Kiba spoke up before Sasuke could. He placed an arm around Hinata's shoulders and grinned. "You should eat ramen with Naruto and I. My treat as a thank you for standing up for Akamaru. What do you say?" He glanced at Shino. "You can come too, Shino! We can play Ninja Saga after!"

Shino felt teary-eyed. Kiba noticed him. Kiba invited him. He would forever be grateful to Kiba for the friendship.

There goes Sasuke's chance. He grunted before he walked away. He couldn't believe that he was getting so stressed out because of some girl, who obviously wasn't interested in him. He stole a quick glance back. Hinata smiled at the three guys as she nodded. Sasuke noticed the light blush that crept up on Hinata's cheeks every time she glanced at Naruto. He quickly walked away. He needed to buy something to collect his thoughts together.

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* * *

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Sakura sat at the edge of an empty bed as Tsunade checked the wound in her arm. It required three stitches but it seemed all better now. "Try not to get this arm wounded again. Your nerves barely escaped by 1 cm. If the angle was a little bit different, you can't use this arm right now. Be careful next time, Sakura. When's the D-Day?"

A.K.A the day when Sakura's father will decide if he'll sell the dojo or not. He's going to sell if he still couldn't pay 50,000 dollars for the land rent but if he could pay tomorrow, the dojo will be given another three months. Yesterday at dinner time, her father was already saying something about them moving to the country side where the rate of living was cheaper. Sakura didn't want to leave. This was the city she grew up in, leaving would be heart-breaking for her. She can't leave.

"Tomorrow. I just need another shot at this, Master. I just have to defeat Sasori then I can stay here for another three months."

"Sakura, I understand why you're doing it. Desperation. But maybe you should talk to your parents about this... How you don't want to leave... How you want to keep the dojo..." Tsunade advised as she kept her hands busy re-wrapping Sakura's arm in a light cloth bandage. "I'm sure they'll understand you."

"I don't want to add trouble anymore." Sakura replied with a smile. "I can do this, Master. Trust me. I'll be fine. You taught me well."

"I'm not doubting you, it's just that - Oh alright, but don't die there. Swing by my house after the fight so I can check your stats."

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, I will." She grabbed her bag. "I'm leaving. Thank you, Tsunade-sensei. I owe you much."

Tsunade smirked. "You do so you have to win."

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* * *

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Hinata walked between Kiba and Shino while Naruto walked in front of them while he bragged about the time he saved a cat from drowning. She giggled when Naruto almost fell on his face because he wasn't look at where he was going. He was so silly. "B-Be careful, Naruto-kun!" She warned with a blush. She hoped that none of the boys noticed that she had a crush on Naruto or else, she was going to be in a lot of trouble and teasing. She didn't want that. All she wanted was to be by Naruto's side, walk beside him, help him, laugh beside him... She smiled to herself. Her school life would've been dull if Naruto's crazy antics weren't around. If he wasn't making everyone in the room laugh all the time, Hinata believes that she was going to be like her cousin Neji, who was just pure bored with school.

Naruto gave Hinata a thumbs-up. "Don't worry about me, Hinata! I'm one tough cookie! You should be careful!"

"Hey Naruto!" Kiba said with a concerned look on his face. "Have you confessed to Sakura yet?"

Hinata gasped softly. She was aware that Naruto liked Sakura but up to the point where he was already going to confess to her? Although she never thought that she'd have a shot to be together with Naruto, she seemed sad that the girl he liked didn't like him back. Most of the time, she saw Sakura yelling something at Naruto, hitting Naruto, and mostly just punching Naruto. Maybe it was a playful gesture between the two? But to Hinata, it looked like it hurt. Sometimes she'd see that Naruto's nose was bleeding after being punch by Sakura if he irritated her enough. It never seemed to bother Naruto though, he'd just grin and laugh then tease Sakura more.

It was kind of sweet.

"We're here! Hot Stuff Ramen House!" Kiba announced before he pushed the glass door open. The three followed Kiba towards a table by the corner. A waitress with bright green hair gave the four of them a copy of the menu. "What do you like Hinata?"

"I want the Special Beef Spicy Ramen!" Naruto announced with a grin.

"I'll have the congee." Shino said. He was just going to eat dinner here so that he won't have to eat dinner at home. He hated washing the dishes after.

Hinata had a hard time deciding but she decided to have the same order as Naruto. Kiba had the Special Sea Food Ramen. She glanced at Naruto for a while as he talked about how he planned to tell Sakura tomorrow and that was when Hinata decided that he was going to help him. She wanted Naruto to be happy and if he was going to be happy with Sakura, then she will help him. That was love. Love? Was she already in love with Naruto? She was horrified at her sudden realization.

Love.

It started from pure admiration... and through time, it has turned to love.

Naruto sighed. "It'd go smoothly if only Sasuke doesn't keep butting in. You know, I think he secretly likes Sakura too. That damn Uchiha. When I confess to Sakura tomorrow, she will fall head-over-heels for me and completely forget about that Sasuke. Believe it!"

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Whatever, dude."

Hinata smiled. She believed it. Once Sakura realizes how Naruto admires her, she can't help but fall in love with him too. Tomorrow, she was going to help keep Sasuke away. Even if he scared her a lot.

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* * *

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Sasuke slowly made his way inside the Drunken Dragon Pub where Itachi texted him as their meeting place. These last few weeks, Itachi has been inviting him a lot to hang out with his gang, the Akatsuki. He had a feeling that his older brother wanted him to join. "Sasuke! Welcome back!" Ren, the usual bartender, greeted raising an empty glass to him. He was grinning and his green eyes twinkling. "The games just started five minutes ago. Your brother's in his usual spot."

Sasuke nodded before he turned towards the barrels. The secret passage was hidden there, just in case some cops came in to bust them. The location was an old plane hanger, which was once used during the second World War, but now it was abandoned and someone named Orochimaru owned it. He was the mastermind behind this illegal activity. He wasn't interested in the other fights only the tie-breaker between Sasori and the Pink Flower. Yes, he was curious if the Pink Flower was Sakura. He just wanted to be sure if wasn't her, although all his reasons were against it, but he just had to be sure. He sat on the empty spot beside Itachi who was looking down the Arena 2B. The fight hasn't started yet but it was about to.

"Itachi." He whispered to his brother. "I want to see that girl's face."

Itachi looked puzzled. "Why?"

Sasuke just shrugged. He didn't want to explain. "Just curious."

Itachi smirked. "Alright, lil bro." He stood up and raised a hand. "Pink Flower, you want to make a wager?"

Everyone turned to look at him. He rarely spoke up before a fight but when he does, everyone listened. The Akatsuki were feared in the streets and ... in the sheets? Anyway, the Pink Flower looked up and stepped back as if she saw something that surprised her... maybe even scared her. "W-What is it?" She replied, her voice trembling slightly. Kisame, Itachi, and Sasuke flinched.

"I'll add 25,000 dollars if you win against Sasori," Itachi paused. "But if Sasori wins, you take off the mask."

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**CLIFFHANGER! :) Because I can't write anymore, my cats have been meowing like crazy, and my dogs are also going crazy because of it. I have to save my cats before my dogs attack them. Having pets is such a drag sometimes. :) Anyway, how am I doing? Am I still doing okay? Or is this getting... lame?**

**Lots of love from me. **


	7. The Pink Flower UNMASKED!

**CHAPTER 7: ****The Pink Flower Unmasked?!**

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Sakura took a step back as she noticed Sasuke sitting beside Itachi. What was he doing here? "W-What is it?" She asked, her voice trembling slightly. She hoped to God that nobody noticed it. Right now, she wished she never talks to Sasuke too much. He might recognize her voice. Please no. If he does, will he tell on her? What will he do?

"I'll add 25,000 dollars if you win against Sasori," Itachi paused. "But if Sasori wins, you take off the mask."

Take off the mask? Itachi wants her to take off her mask. "Why?" She inquired, crossing her arms over her chest. In the rule book, it was stated that a contestant can wear a mask if he or she wants to. "It's not against the rules."

"Just for fun. I am a little curious. I want to see who it is who managed to tie with Sasori. Deal then?"

Sakura knew she couldn't turn down a bargain with Akatsuki. They were known for being ruthless, if she doesn't agree to this, Itachi will probably use other measures to see who she was like ambush her, follow her home... But if she agrees, all she had to do was win. Easier said than done. Sasori was a tough one but it's not like she has any other choice to choose from right now. "Alright, you have my word." She said, tightening the tie of the mask around her head. "If I win, I won't take off the mask and you'll leave me alone."

Itachi placed a hand over his heart. "You have my word."

The referee glanced back and forth between the two parties. "All good now? Let's start?" He raised a red flag, "Alright, the fight begins in three..." The crowd cheered as they began placing their bets. "Two!" The referee huffed as he dropped the flag. "START!"

Four blades immediately flew towards Sakura, which she evaded perfectly. She grabbed one and ran towards Sasori. She leaped in the air and aimed a punch at Sasori's chest. He blocked it with his arms but Sakura was quick, she made a circle in the air and hit Sasori's upper back with her feet. He stumbled forward as Sakura dropped on the ground. Sakura ran towards him again but this time he was prepared, he jumped over her and kicked her back before his feet reached the floor. Sakura glared at him as she pushed herself back up on her feet. He was copying her moves.

Sakura gasped as Sasori appeared by her side out of nowhere. _He's faster now!_ She thought alarmed. The next thing she saw was a fist heading straight to her jaw. "AH!" She yelped as she flew a few meters away, edging at the tip of the stage.

"A tough blow by Sasori!" The referee exclaimed as the crowd cheered. "Close call! If the Pink Flower fell of the stage, it would mean automatic disqualification! Will she be able to rise up on her feet again?"

Sakura grunted as she tried to move her arms. Her jaw was stinging with every breath she took. She remembered her father's words: _If I cannot pay the 50,000 dollars tomorrow, we have to move to the countryside. I'm sorry. _"NO!" She whispered to herself as she forced herself to sit up. "I'm not moving away!"

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* * *

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Neji glared at his cousin who just arrived. This was the first time she went home late and worse, he heard that she got into detention because of some brat called Kiba. He crossed his arms in front of him. "Where have you been, Hinata? I had to stay behind because of you." He stated with a frown. Tonight was another fight session down at the Drunken Dragon pub but his father made him stay and wait up for Hinata. Lee and Tenten were probably wondering where he was right now. "And I heard you got detention. You're lucky I didn't tell your father."

"Neji..." Hinata started, flushing. "I-I'm sorry... I ate ramen with some of my c-classmates."

"With Kiba?"

"Y-Yes."

"I heard you got detention because of him. Didn't I tell you to choose your friends wisely, Hinata?" Neji snapped as he pulled Hinata inside. "I'm keep this a secret for now. I don't want anything like this to happen again." He couldn't help it but feel very protective of his younger cousin. She was meek and timid. She stuttered a lot and had self-confidence issues. Neji was afraid that people where going to take advantage of her. "Are we clear?"

Hinata nodded. "Y-Yes, Neji. It's Friday... You should go."

Neji sighed. "Yeah, I should." He placed a hand on her head. "Don't worry, one day I'll take you there with me."

"Where exactly is it?"

Neji just shrugged his shoulders and walked away. "Lock the doors." He wasn't ready to explain to her... Maybe one day when she's a little bit mature and understanding. She hasn't seen the world a lot since she has always been protected from the harsh truth, unlike he was. Neji understood that the world was cruel, and sadly, money was everything. Money equals power and respect. He just didn't want to shatter Hinata's innocent view of the world just yet.

He hopped on the bus and sat at the back. He hoped the fight between Tenten and a girl name Temari hasn't started yet.

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* * *

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"TWO STRAIGHT BLOWS FOR SASORI!" The referee exclaimed as he edged off his seat and stomped his feet around. This fight was giving him a rush. "WOO! AND A ROUND-HOUSE KICK STRAIGHT TO THE CHEST! The Earth is shaking, Ladies and Gentlemen! Sasori wobbles!"

_THUD!_

"C-Can't be." Sasori muttered before he fell flat on the floor. He couldn't believe it. A girl defeated him? A mere girl? Who was she?

"The Pink Flower wins! Ladies and Gentlemen! That was soooo good! Looks like the Akatsuki lost the bet!" Referee continued with a grin.

The Pink Flower waved to the crowd who cheered wildly. She turned back at Itachi and made a small mocking bow. "Sorry, maybe next time." She said as she tightened the knot behind her head. Itachi nodded as he handed her a wad of cash and said: "Congratulations! You deserved it. Looking forward to your next battle."

The Pink Flower took the cash. She was glad she was wearing the mask because right now her face was red because Sasuke was standing close to Itachi. He was looking at her like he was trying to figure something out. She hoped that he couldn't see her green eyes. "Y-Yes. I'll see you around then." She said in a voice a notch higher than her normal voice. Quickly she turned around and hopped off the stage. Thank God that was over! She couldn't wait to give the money to her father. She was staying here!

She hurriedly ran off towards the exit where she bumped with someone. Somehow through the hassle, her mask loosened and fell on the ground. She gasped and quickly looked up at the person she bumped into.

Recognition quickly flashed in Neji's eyes. "YOU!" He snapped, grabbing her arm. "Aren't you that girl Ino is always with?"

"W-Who's Ino?" The Pink Flower replied as she picked up the fallen mask. Her eyes were wide and her fingers trembling. She backed away but Neji grabbed her arm. "WHAT! Oww! Let go!"

"Aren't you Sakura?" Neji asked before she jerked her arm away and made a run for it. "Hey! Hey!" He called as he ran after her. He frowned. She was quick, maybe it was because she was small. She disappeared after a corner. Dang it. Neji slowed down as he glanced around him. Not a sign of movement. She couldn't have gone far. He continued on his way, not knowing two pairs of eyes were watching him as he left.

.

"Ow! Would you let go - !" Sakura screamed as she whisked away the person who pulled her behind a column. "What is wrong with people grabbing me and -" She gasped. "S-S-S-Sasuke! Wh-What are you? What are you doing here?"

Sasuke Uchiha glanced down at Sakura with empty black eyes before he shoved his hands into his pockets. "I can't say I'm glad to know you're the one who Sasori lost to." He looked at her up and down. Studying. Judging. "... Who would've thought."

Sakura let out a sigh. "Please don't say anything to anyone." Then she wrapped her arms around him and wailed, "Please! I'll do anything! Any-thing!"

Sasuke growled as he started to push her away. "Sakura! Let go!" He hissed then he groaned, "Alright! I won't say anything! God! You're so annoying!"

Sakura smiled up at him. Her green eyes starry. "Really? Promise?" She leaned closer, "This is just between the two of us then?"

"You'll do anything right?" Sasuke confirmed with a smirk. He could ask her to stay the hell away from him and to bring Ino with her as well, but he had a much better idea. She'll help him with ...

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* * *

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**HARUNO HOUSE**

**Saturday Morning**

"SAKURA!" her father called as he burst into her room and jumped on her bed. He was laughing as he hugged a dusty black bag to his chest. Her mother followed closely with tears in her eyes. "SAKURA! Wake up!"

Sakura stirred in her sleep. "W-what? I'm tired..." she mumbled, trying to pull the covers above her head. Her whole body was aching and so was her heart. "It's Saturday... No school..." She felt a heavy weight dropped on her chest. "Ow!" She groaned, trying to open her eyes. Sasori kicked her on that spot last night, it still ached. "What's happening?" She asked, surprised to find her father and mother, crying in each other's arms. "What's wrong?" She noticed the familiar black bag on top of her. She opened the zipper and pretended to be surprised. "D-Dad! Where'd you get this large amount of money?"

Her father ran over to hug her, followed by her mother. "Someone left it by the door!" He said, sobbing. "We're staying! We're staying! We don't have to go to the country anymore!"

"And we have extra too!" Her mother added as she kissed Sakura's cheeks. "I can now start a small business!"

Sakura grinned as she stood up and laughed with her father. "WHOO! I'M STAYING! I'M STAYING! I should go tell my friends!" She threw her arms around her parents, "I love you!" Before she ran back in her room and grabbed a towel, she had to hurry! Then she remembered something... "Oh no, I have detention."

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* * *

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**OUTSIDE THE HARUNO HOUSE**

Sasuke rolled his eyes as Naruto kept going on and on about his weird dream about a fox last night. He was on his way to pick up the annoying girl, when he bumped into Naruto, who insisted on coming along. Great, now he can't talk to Sakura in private. Why can't this idiot keep his mouth shut? I mean, how hard can it be? How can a person just have energy to keep on talking and talking and talking? Does he ever run out of topics to talk about? They stopped in front of the door and Naruto knocked with a silly grin on his lips.

Sasuke watched as Naruto tried to quickly fix his hair and smell his breath. He must really have it bad for Sakura, huh? "Why do you like Sakura?" Sasuke suddenly found himself asking.

Naruto froze and slowly glanced at Sasuke. "Why do you?" He countered back.

"I don't like her."

Naruto glared at him. "Then why are you picking her up today?"

Sasuke shook his head. He should've just kept his mouth shut. He wasn't in the mood to argue with Naruto on this. Naruto glared at him. "There's no way I'm letting you have Sakura. She doesn't deserve you." Naruto stated before he knocked again. Sakura's mother opened the door with a smile. "Good morning, auntie! Is Sakura awake?"

"Yes, I'll go and tell her to hurry up. Would you boys care for breakfast?" She asked with a smile as she opened the door wider. Naruto laughed and quickly followed her inside. Sasuke let out sigh as he stepped inside. It was a small modern house. White walls. Wooden sliding doors. A steep wooden staircase. A little bit cozy. "Sit down! We're having a mini celebration!" she said, handing the two boys a glass of orange juice. "Feel free to make yourselves a sandwich or two!" She walked towards the end of the stairs and yelled, "SAKURA! Come down here! Your handsome classmates are here!"

Naruto snickered as he nudged Sasuke's ribs. "Did you hear that? I'm handsome."

"C-Classmates? Handsome? The only classmate I have who's handsome is Sasuke! And there's no way that he's in my house." Sakura stated as she ran down the stairs, barefoot. She gasped as she saw Naruto, who was glaring at Sasuke, and Sasuke, who was smirking at Naruto. Her cheeks turned red. Why? Why does she keep saying embarrassing things whenever Sasuke's around? Why? "S-Sasuke-kun! Naruto-kun!" She raised a brow at the two. "What are you two doing here?"

Naruto grinned at Sakura. WOW! She looked so good in the morning! She didn't even have any make-up on yet. "I came to pick you up! Airhead decided to tag along!" he replied, "So are you ready to go, Sakura-chan?"

"Y-Yeah, let me grab my shoes and bag." She ran back up the stairs as her mother blabbed about the crimes happening around the neighborhood this month. Darn! What were they doing in her house? She planned to stop by Ino's shop first! She wasn't excited to go to detention and clean up. She raced down the stairs before her mother tattles on something embarrassing about her childhood years. "Let's go, you two!"

She ran out the door. "Bye mom! See you tonight!"

Sakura glanced at the two boys as they made their way to school. Well, this is awkward. Naruto repeated his dream to Sakura, much to Sasuke's dismay. He tried to control himself from slamming his fist down Naruto's throat so he'd keep quiet for a few minutes. "Really? The fox was inside you? Sounds gross." Sakura commented, making a disgusted face.

Naruto sweat-dropped. "N-No! Not like that!" then he grinned at someone, who was running towards them. "Hey! Over here!"

Sasuke froze as he watched her come closer. The way her dark hair flew with the breeze, her smile, and her sparkling pale purple eyes. "G-Good morning!" Hinata greeted, with a light blush on her pale cheeks. "I - I'm going to help you clean up today."

"That's great, Hinata!" Naruto beamed with a grin. "We could really use the help! The park is quite large!"

Sakura froze as she noticed someone walking slowly towards them. That long dark hair, pale skin and pale eyes. Oh great! She wasn't thrilled that Hinata was here to volunteer her help, like what's up with that? Why would anyone do that? And now, she brought her cousin along with her. Today wasn't going to be a good day. She caught Sasuke sneaking a glance at Hinata, who was busy listening to Naruto's weird dream.

"Sakura." Neji greeted with a straight face.

Sakura glanced up at him. "Neji." She stated back, not willing to be intimidated by him.

"Naruto. Sasuke. And Hinata." Naruto butted in with a grin. "What are you doing here, Neji?"

Neji smirked as he turned his attention to Naruto. "I'm here to watch over my cousin."

Sakura and Sasuke let out a breath. Oh fantastic.

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**SOOOORRY IT TOOK SO LONG! :)) But I got busy, traveling from one island to another. Hehe. Anyway, have you guys read the latest chapter? Ugh. I can't wait for the next. :3 Rawr.**


	8. Sacrifice

**Chapter 8 - Sacrifice**

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**A/N: Sorry for the long wait! It's holy week! Had to sacrifice the computer for a while! ;) You know how it is!**

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Sasuke Uchiha was whistling as he dragged the black glossy garbage bag from spot to another. Hinata was making efforts to talk to him, even just by commenting at how nice the weather today was, or how industrious he was as he picked up crispy dried up leaves from the dirt. He didn't even understand why Hinata was paying attention to him, but he assumes that it had something to do with Naruto... The way she sneaked glances at Naruto when Sasuke wasn't looking was kind of irking him though. What does she see in that guy?

"You like Naruto." Sasuke suddenly stated out of nowhere. He just wanted to test how Hinata would react... to test the waters.

As expected, Hinata blushed like crazy. She began sweating and her hands began to tremble as she reached for a stick broom. "A-Ah, that's not true." She tried to reason but of course, she knows that Sasuke has caught on to her. Was she obvious? She turned her attention back to the leaves she'd gathered. "Why do you ask?"

Sasuke shrugged. He didn't want to say that because he keep his eyes on her most of the time, so he didn't say anything. He glanced at where Naruto was and frowned. What does she see in him? He was noisy. He can never keep his mouth shut even for two minutes. His voice was loud. Naruto was reckless and impulsive. All action, less thinking.

Naruto was trying to talk to Sakura, who seemed surprised by something he said. Sasuke wondered what it was. Had Naruto finally confessed? He's been talking about it since last week. He should've so Sakura would also leave him alone. He smirked when he noticed that Neji was also trying to get Sakura's attention to Naruto's irritation.

"Oh no." He heard Hinata mumble. "Sasuke-kun, please stay here." She ran to where Neji was and tried to drag him away from the two. Neji wasn't moving though. He kept repeating that he needed to talk to Sakura, to which Naruto growled. The dope probably thinks Neji will confess his feelings as well. What does he even see in Sakura?

He groaned. If those two end up together, it would be a lot of noise.

Hinata whispered something to Neji, which finally managed to make him come with her to where Sasuke stood. Neji narrowed his gaze at him as he took the broom Hinata was using. "How's Itachi?" Neji suddenly asked. "You still kiss the ground he walks on?"

Sasuke glared at him. This fucker. "Still can't defeat him?" He retorted.

Neji grunted. "Hn."

Hinata sighed by the sidelines before she glanced back at Naruto, who gave her a thumbs-up. She sweetly smiled back.

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* * *

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Naruto gulped as he turned his attention back to his queen. She was busy watering the plants while he stood there, trying to make conversation. He could tell something was bothering her but she wouldn't tell him. She seemed irritated with Neji for some reason. "S-Sakura." He gulped. "I need to tell you something... this is the thing I was trying to tell you days ago... I never had the chance so ..."

Sakura sighed. "What is it, Naruto? Go on and say it so I can continue with my work."

"Ah, I ah... Sakura, I.. Ah..." He tried but it was like someone was choking him. He couldn't speak, he couldn't find the words to tell her. What were the right words to use when you tell someone how you feel? Isn't there a guideline available for this? Maybe he should just tell her some other day... But Hinata went through all that trouble to keep Sasuke and Neji away. He couldn't bear to waste her efforts. He wondered why Hinata did those though. Was she just that naturally kind to people?

Sakura grumbled. "What is it, Naruto?"

"SAKURA! I LIKE YOU!" Naruto yelled, blushing from head to toe. "I - I like you a lot! I really really like you, Sakura-chan!"

Naruto watched as Sakura's bright green eyes widen in surprise and her cheeks turn into a faint pink color. What was he going to say? Was she going to accept his proposal? Was she going to be his girlfriend now? "I promise, to make you happy everyday... I promise to keep my promises... I like you, Sakura-chan." He added, feeling a little more confident now.

Sakura looked like she was thinking. Thinking hard.

"AH, Naruto... Don't joke like that." She giggled. "Although it's a little bit funny, it's not a very good joke. People might take you seriously and you'll be in a lot of trouble. Now get out of my way so I can water the plants and leave!" She walked past him in a hurry.

Was that it? Was that her answer?

Naruto followed her. He grabbed her shoulders and made her look at him. He looked his blue eyes with her green ones. From his peripheral vision, he could see the forms of the others not moving. They were looking over here. Should he kneel? He wanted Sakura so much! She was going to be his wife. "I'm not kidding." He stated. "Please be my girlfriend."

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Sakura glanced at the other three, who were frozen like statues. Gaping at Naruto and her. Oh God, this was so embarrassing. She locked eyes with Sasuke and then remembered her words: _Help me with Hinata and I'll keep your secret._ Who would've guessed huh? The great Sasuke Uchiha was tongue-tied when it came to the girl he likes. Sakura was in a knot. A very very complicated knot.

It's funny how one simple decision can affect your life so.

"Y-Yeah, okay. I'll be your girlfriend." She suddenly said, with a tight smile. Her heart broke a little when a wide smile started to spread on Naruto's face, his blue eyes twinkled before he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her for a tight hug, He was so happy, it was breaking her heart. She didn't like Naruto. No, she never saw him like that, in that light... Naruto was a friend. An annoying friend, who liked to poke fun on her. What was she doing? But this was the only way that she could think of to keep Naruto away from Hinata... or should she say, to keep Hinata away from Naruto. She was a girl, so she noticed the looks Hinata gave Naruto, the way her cheeks flush whenever he was around... the way her words stumbled over each other... and the way, her smile brightens when he was making her laugh. Sasuke would never have a chance with Hinata if Naruto was around.

Hinata liked Naruto too much.

Sakura sighed as she slowly hugged Naruto back. Looks like she had a boyfriend now. Ino was going to kill her... or throw a party. It depends. Oh well, what is love if it isn't sacrifice, right?

_Sorry, Naruto._ She thought.

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Hinata managed a small smile as she watched Naruto and Sakura hug from a distance. Everything went well. She bit her lip to keep her from sobbing. "I - I'll go to the b-bathroom." She stated as she quickly ran away. It hurt. It hurt a lot. Of course, because she loved Naruto. She's been having these feelings for him since they were six years old and playing at the playground. Well, she mostly watched but it was his bright smile that brightens up her days... but now, looks like they'll be brightening someone else's day now.

Officially.

While she's here... alone in the shadows again... hiding underneath the shade... hiding away from the bright sun... although all she wants is to bask in it's warmth. "Naruto..." She whispered, leaning behind a column. She wasn't really going to the bathroom. She just didn't want anyone to see her crying. She sat on the floor and brought her knees up to her chest. Why is it that a person never get what he wants? But then she shook her head... No, she shouldn't be thinking like this. Not like this. She was going to be happy for Naruto. He looked happy. Of course, that smile was still going to brighten up her day... always... but now she's going to have to work double to keep her feelings a secret so that Sakura won't feel bad or be bothered. Yes, she was still going to be a friend to Naruto.

Friendship lasts more than relationships these days anyway.

Hinata shook her head again. How could she think like that? She's disgusting. How could she secretly wish for Naruto to love her instead? She's always known that he liked Sakura Haruno. She shouldn't dream of impossible scenarios like this, or she'll end up expecting something. Friendship was enough.

What is love if it isn't sacrifice?

She looked up at the sound of someone clearing their throat. She was surprised to see Sasuke Uchiha with one of his hand shoved inside his pocket and one hand holding out a white handkerchief to her. He was looking away from her though. "S-S-Sasuke." She mumbled, as she reached for the handkerchief. "Thank you."

"Don't think about it." He stated.

Hinata nodded. He must be suffering too. Doesn't he and Sakura have something? She always saw them together, was that why he came out here too? So he wouldn't have to see them?

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**WELL THAT'S IT! :)))) See you next chapter, babiessss! :) I had a hard time accessing three days ago... it keeps saying error2... :(**


	9. What's Happening?

***dodges rotten tomatoes being thrown* OMG I'M SORRY I TOOK SO LONG! I've been caught up in job hunting and going to the dentist and taking revenge on my silly ex-boyfriend, who is an asshole. Here's the next chapter okay! Love you, cutie.**

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**Chapter 9 - What's Happening?**

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Ino stared at Sakura, who was pretending to find whatever Naruto was saying about his tomato soup funny, and then she shifted her gaze at Naruto, who was animatedly bragging about something in his tomato soup. What disturbed Ino more was that their hands were intertwined together on top of the table like it was the most natural thing in the whole wide world? Like, what was happening? When did these two start holding each other's hands? She directed a glare at Sakura. "What the hell is happening, Sakura? Why are you holding-" She pointed a finger at Naruto. "-hands with him? When did this happen? Did I miss anything?"

Sakura hesitated but then she finally said, "He's my boyfriend now."

Naruto grinned as he scratched the back of his head. He had a light blush on his cheeks.

Choji, who was sitting beside Ino, choked on his food and immediately reached for the glass of water in front of him. He started hitting his chest with a clenched hand.

Ino's jaw dropped on the table as she tried to mentally process the four words that Sakura just said. _He's my boyfriend now._ _Boyfriend now. BOYFRIEND. _What the hell was happening to the world? Since when did Sakura like Naruto? Maybe as a friend, but she never got the bulletin where in Sakura fell in love with Naruto. Last Friday, she was still gushing about Sasuke in their Geography class, and now she's holding hands and saying that Naruto was her boyfriend. Do you see what the problem is here?_  
_

Shikamaru arrived on the table and grinned. "Hey Naruto! Hey Sakura!" He greeted but then he noticed the intertwined hands on top of the table. "Eh? Hey, Sakura, are you aware that Naruto is holding your hand?"

"H-H-He's her..." Ino tried to say as she started to compose herself again. She cleared her throat. "They're a couple now."

Shikamaru's eyes almost jumped out of their sockets then he started coughing as if he was choking on his own saliva. Choji quickly handed him a glass of water. "W-What? When did that happen? Did I miss something?" He handed the glass back at Choji. "Thanks, Choji."

Choji nodded with a smile. "Hehe, I choked on my food too."

Naruto grumbled. "Hey! What kind of reactions are that?"

Shikamaru laughed then he proceeded to sit down beside Naruto and threw an arm over his friend's shoulder. "Anyway, congratulations. You'll find out soon enough that having a girlfriend is a drag, especially since your girlfriend is Sakura."

Sakura glared at Shikamaru. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Sakura," Ino said with a serious face. "Can I talk to you for a bit?" Sakura nodded then she started to stand up. Ino noticed that Naruto was also starting to get out of his seat. "Where are you going Naruto?"

"With Sakura, of course."

Ino growled. "Well, I have to talk to her about girl stuff. Alone."

Naruto was going to protest but Shikamaru cut in. "Yessh, let them go, Naruto. Why don't you tell us how you became couple instead of listening on girly gossip?"

Naruto glanced at Sakura then he grinned. "I'll just be here, Sakura-chan."

Sakura returned the smile. "Yeah. I won't be long, Naruto."

Ino pulled Sakura out of the cafeteria and they both stood near the trash bins, where no one was around. Ino placed a hand on her hip and glared at Sakura. "What the hell really happened, Sakura? Did I miss a memo or something? What happened to your feelings for Sasuke?" She blew her long fringe away from her blue eyes.

"Still here." Sakura replied with a sigh. "... But I can't tell you, Ino. I just can't tell you."

"And why not?"

Sakura snorted. "Because I can't. I don't even know what happened."

"What about Sasuke?" Ino asked with a frown. Sakura has admired Sasuke since they were in pre-school... She was always talking about Sasuke last Friday and now came Monday, she's Naruto's girlfriend. Something wasn't right here.

Sakura lowered her gaze. "H-He likes someone else, Ino."

Ino gasped. "Oh my God! Is it me?"

Sakura finally laughed as she playfully smacked her friend's arm. "Oh Ino! You're so funny sometimes!"

Ino stuck her tongue out at Sakura. "Who said I was joking, forehead?! So is it?"

Sakura glared at her. "NO, PIG! Stop dreaming! It's not the two of us!"

"WHAT? Then who is it?" Ino burst out shaking Sakura's shoulders. "We need to find out who it is! We need to! You bitch! You know who it is! Who is it? Tell me, Sakura!" Sakura managed to get away from her. "SAKURA! Get back here! You need to tell me! We need to destroy that bitch! Sakura! I'm your best friend, goddamit!"

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Shino watched as the two noisy females hurried away from where he was hiding. He was looking for his spider, which somehow managed to escape the little cage he made. He replayed the scene which played out in front of him a minute ago. Oh so, Sasuke Uchiha was human after all. Sasuke Uchiha liked someone. This was a case to be solved by none other than himself. He pushed himself out of the bags of trash and dusted his white coat.

Shino had a mission.

He was going to know who Sasuke Uchiha liked.

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Sasuke Uchiha was being watched. He could feel it. The question was: WHY? He stopped in front of his locker and slowly opened it. He couldn't see anyone paying attention to him so why was he getting a feeling that he was being watched? He traded his books in English for his history book. He closed his locker and started walking away. Sasuke saw Itachi getting out of the gym with Kisame. "Itachi." He greeted. Truth be told, Sasuke was always happy to see his older brother. "Are you heading somewhere?"

Itachi smiled at his younger brother before he poked Sasuke's forehead playfully. "No, you will not cut classes. Go to your next class." Then his expression became serious. "You're bugged." Itachi reached for Sasuke's uniform pocket and pulled out a small beetle. "Literally." He crushed the small bug between his fingers. "See you at home."

Sasuke smirked. Itachi was always keen with his observations. "Hn."

"Bye, little bro." Kisame said, reaching to ruffle Sasuke's hair but Sasuke was fast. He quickly swatted Kisame's hand away to which made Kisame laugh. "You're so touchy, Sasuke."

Sasuke glared at Kisame.

"Kisame," Itachi called with an amused look. "Let's go."

Kisame playfully shoved Sasuke to the side as he passed him by. "Later, Sasuke."

Sasuke brushed off the part where Kisame touched him as he continued on his way to his next class. He was about to enter the room when Hinata arrived on the door at the same time as he did. She was panting lightly. He raised a brow.

Hinata glanced up at Sasuke and smiled. "S-Sa-Sasuke-kun." She greeted with a little bow. "G-Good Morning."

Sasuke felt heat rush up to his face which made him quickly look away. "Ah, good morning." He gestured her to the door, urging him to go inside before him. It was the gentlemanly thing to do. Hinata nodded then quickly stepped inside. She glanced back and muttered a thanks before she hurried to her seat. Ah, of course, he almost forgot. They were classmates in this subject. He was about to step inside the room when someone called his name. He looked up and frowned.

Naruto was waving his arm like crazy while his other arm was around Sakura's shoulder. He pulled her closer to him and grinned. "Sasuke, Sakura's with me now." Naruto gloated. "I guess, I won this one huh?"

Sasuke narrowed his gaze at the dobe. He didn't like the way Naruto spoke, like Haruno was some kind of prize that he deserved. He shrugged, "Nobody cares." he stated with a stoic expression on his face.

Sakura gasped as she stared at up at him. Her green eyes wide. Sasuke almost wanted to take what he said back and explain to her that he didn't mean it like she thinks he did. She's misreading him but instead of explaining, Sasuke stood his ground and was about to walk inside the classroom when Sakura quickly walked passed him as she dragged Naruto behind her. "Let's go, Naruto. Don't waste time on Sasuke-kun." He heard her say.

Naruto stuck his tongue out at Sasuke as he allowed himself to be dragged by his new girlfriend. He laughed. "Bye, Uchiha!" He taunted then he noticed Hinata sitting by the corner. She was busy reading a book. "Hey Hinata-chan!" He greeted with a smile. "Good morning!"

Hinata glanced up from her book and blushed. "G-Good Morning, Naruto-kun!" She greeted, then she turned to Sakura, who stood beside Naruto. She looked angry. "Good Morning, Sakura-chan."

Sakura turned to look at Hinata, and then she smiled. "Good Morning, Hinata-chan." She let go of Naruto and proceeded to take the seat beside Hinata. "Can I sit beside you, Hinata-chan?" She needed some peace and quiet today and she wasn't getting that with Naruto. He was so noisy. She can't hear herself think or speak for that matter.

Hinata nodded.

Naruto gaped at his girlfriend. "Sakura! But you always sit beside me!"

"I want to sit with Hinata, Naruto." Sakura replied, glancing at Naruto, who was pouting. As she turned her attention to her phone, she noticed Sasuke's attention directed at her... Sakura sighed and then she glanced at Hinata, who was back to reading her book. "Of course, he's not looking at me. I forgot." She muttered as she flooded Ino with text messages.

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Kiba skipped happily as he popped in inside Naruto's classroom. "NARUTO! I heard the news!" He beamed as he jumped on his friend's back. He grinned. "You lucky boy! You finally got your girl huh?" They high-fived. "Congratulations, bro!" Kiba turned to where Sakura was sitting. He waved at her. "Hey Sakura! Glad you finally gave this idiot a chance!"

"Yuh." Sakura replied before she turned her attention back to her phone.

Kiba raised a brow then he leaned in closer to Naruto. "What's wrong with her? Did you piss her off again?"

Naruto shook his head. "Not that I know of. She seems really moody today."

Kiba shrugged. "Must be her time of the month. You know how girls are. Anyway, tell me all about it, Naruto! Shikamaru was too lazy to retell the story so I hurried here instead. Hehe. How did you become a couple? Everyone at school is talking about it!"

Naruto's eyes sparkled. "REALLY? We are like the power couple now!"

They high-fived again.

"Well, it happened last Saturday, while we were on detention!" Naruto started with a grin. "I was determined to tell her that day. I was going to tell her before we arrived at school, so I decided to pass by her house to pick her up, but that damn Sasuke was also there. He was going to pick her up! Believe it! So my plan was delayed but then, with Hinata-chan's help... She managed to drag Sasuke and her cousin, Neji away..."

Kiba's eyes widened. "What? Neji was also there?"

Naruto nodded. "Uh-huh! He seemed to be really wanting to talk to Sakura-chan alone too! But I beat them both to it, huh? Sakura-chan really has a lot of admirers!" He huffed. "I'm going to have to be strong to drive them all away from her."

"Speaking of admirers..." Kiba said as he sighed. He spotted Lee pressing his face on the glass window before Lee rushed inside the classroom. The guy had tears falling down his eyes as he stared at Sakura, who was oblivious to what was happening. "... Your first opponent is here."

"SAKURA-SAN!" Lee burst out, catching everyone's attention. He made his way to where Sakura was sitting. "Is it true? Are you and Naruto a... a... a... a... a... a... couple?"

Hinata slowly closed the book she was reading and glanced back and forth between a surprised Sakura and a teary Rock Lee. Wow, Sakura really had a lot of admirers, huh? Hinata felt so small. Of course, Sakura will have a lot of them... She wasn't weird like Hinata was. She actually knows how to keep a conversation going. Sakura was also smart and frequently spoke up about her views. Hinata caught sight of Naruto as he stood up from where he was sitting and made his way to where Sakura was sitting.

"Naruto-kun! Calm down." She found herself saying but of course, Naruto didn't hear it.

"Neh, LEE!" Naruto yelled, glaring at the older student. "What do you think your doing?"

Rock Lee turned to face Naruto. "Naruto, I'm merely asking Sakura-san a question."

"Naruto, sit down." Sakura said, glaring at her supposed boyfriend.

Rock Lee turned his attention back to Sakura then he got down on his knee and grabbed Sakura's hand and left a kiss on it. Sakura looked like she was ready to bolt out of there. "Sakura-san, please allow me to give you the love you deserve while we are both young and full of energy, for this is the springtime of our youth."

Naruto growled as he reached for Lee's green jumpsuit. "Hey! Don't touch _my_ Sakura-chan!" He hissed, glaring at him. Lee had a clam face on. "Yeah, we are a couple. Do you have any problem with that? Believe it!" Then he laughed. "Must really suck to be you, huh? Caterpillar."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Cut it out, you two."

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Sasuke let out a huff as he watched the scene unfold before him. Everyone was fighting over Sakura. Sheesh. Karin seemed to be annoyed as well. "Eh, why are they fighting over Sakura so much?" she said. Then she turned and wrapped herself all over Sasuke. "If someone tried to take me away, Sasuke-sama, what would you do?"

Sasuke felt a migraine coming. "Nothing." He replied glaring down at Karin. "Let go."

Karin pouted. "Oh, Sasuke-sama! You shy cutie! It'll be our little secret, you know!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Why can't some people take a hint?

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Iruka-sensei stepped inside the room while Naruto and Lee were fighting. He quickly sent the two to detention, where they were going to make up for the mess they made. He started class with a bad mood. He gave a pop quiz as punishment. Then he quickly dismissed the class. "Sakura, I don't want anymore fights about this. Whatever happened, that was the last one okay? Control your... uhm... boyfriend."

Sakura let out a sigh. "Yes, Iruka-sensei."

"Good bye, class." Iruka said as he walked out of the classroom.

Sakura turned to Hinata. "Hey, Hinata! Are you going to hang out with Kiba and the others later?"

Hinata nodded.

Sakura knew that after class, Naruto mostly hang out with Kiba, Shikamaru, and sometimes, Hinata was with them. "Oh, great. Can you do me a favor then?" Sakura asked with a smile. Hinata nodded. "Can you tell Naruto I went home first because my mom wanted me to do something? Please?"

Hinata nodded. "O-okay, Sakura-chan. I'll tell him."

Sakura smiled brightly then she leaned in and gave Hinata a kiss on the cheeks. "Thank you, Hinata-chan. I'll see you tomorrow then!" She waved as she walked out of the room. Thank God, the day was over. Sakura could wait to go home and spent the evening dipped in a strawberry bubble bath. Ino texted her earlier that she was going to hand out with Ten-ten. Sakura wasn't aware that they were friends, like when did that happen? Did she miss a memo? Maybe Ino was still a bit angry that Sakura would tell her who Sasuke liked. But it's not like Sakura can just blurt it out... Sasuke would know... Ino was a gossiper. She just loved talking.

"SAKURA."

Sakura looked up at the sound of her name and sighed. "What now?" She asked as she glanced back and forth Neji and Sasuke.

"I need to talk to you." The two boys said in unison which made them glare at each other.

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**Ehh? What did Neji and Sasuke want from Sakura? I wonder how Lee and Naruto are doing at detention? Will Sasuke finally get some alone time with Hinata in the next chapter? **


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